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3.16.2012

I know I used that line already (here) for Pace's arrival, but it seems to fit pretty well here too so I apologize for my unoriginality. :) I know that people talk about "pregnancy brain" but I'm pretty sure that I still have it (or rather DON'T have it) seven months later. Kind of like my body...haha.

Back to the floors though. Pergo floors to be exact. I have to tell you about the deal I got because I almost don't believe it myself. As usual, I went back and forth (literally from store to store and website to website) deciding on the laminate. One day I made a random trip to Lowe's to pick up an exterior light and I did a little drive by the flooring section when I came across a yellow tag on the bottom shelf. I'm not sure if you are all aware of the yellow tag, but it usually means an AMAZING deal. I initially assumed it was not what I was looking for (color-wise or style-wise) but to my surprise, it was pretty normal. It was called Classic Red Oak by Pergo and it was on sale for $1.19/sq. ft. from $2.99/sq. ft. CRAZY, right?? I would direct you up to the Lowe's website to show you what I mean, but the reason it was such a good deal is because they were on buy-back from Pergo. I guess they were changing out the color or the name of the color or something (which they do on occasion when something isn't selling as much) so Lowe's was getting rid of them for cheap. Real cheap. I couldn't pass up the deal, so I bought every single one on the shelf....in 4 different stores. I ended up having more than I needed, but I'm going to save a box or two in case we damage a piece later and they are no longer manufactured. So all in all, we spent $556 on 520 sq. ft. of laminate (or $618 - $62.88 with a 10% coupon I had). I thought that I just loved it for the price, but once we started installing it, I think that I like it regardless.....

And I liked it even more once the whole thing was complete!! (Please forgive the terrible, cluttered, messy photos....we haven't exactly cleaned up and put everything back in order yet, so these are just a sneak peek at the finished product)!

And for the bathroom floor, we chose the same tile as we used in our half bath renovation (more here). It was $4.00/sq. ft. which came out to $182 ($168 for 42 sq. ft. plus $14 for grout). I already had the tools and the thinset mortar from the kitchen backsplash project (here and here). I apologize for the terrible process picture. I meant to take more as we were working, but once we got started I got in a groove and didn't want to stop.....mostly for fear that I wouldn't start back up again. Oh, and yes, I am wearing a sweatshirt that says "The Future Mrs. Carroll". Haha. Hell yea I still rock my pre-wedding digs.....to paint and tile and do messy things. Sorry honey. It's kind of weird to wear them anywhere else at this point (3.5 years later) so instead of wasting a perfectly good hoodie, I decided to put it to good use.......

Oh, and I also threw in a look at the shower floor tile. It is only laid out at this point so I can see how many more 12x12 sheets I need. What do you think??

And just because I have to throw in a picture of the little bug.....

We are so close to finishing this project, I can taste it!! We even had time to install the doors and some trim so I will have more updates very soon!

3.08.2012

The paint is up (though not without a little drama) and the floors are ready to go down!! YAY! I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders now. B and I share most DIY tasks 50/50 but painting is really my thing. He will sometimes help roll while I cut, but I am such a crazy perfectionist that I tend to do most of it on my own. So when I say drama, I just mean that I took the perfectionist thing to a whole new level this time!! Let's start back at the beginning.......

I spent an obsessively long time picking out the colors, as usual, and I felt so confident in my decision that I picked up 2 gallons of Sherwin Williams Duration Interior Satin Latex in North Star and started slapping it on the wall. Side note: The room in question is the big family room and hallway which is probably 400-500 sq ft total. After the first few strokes went up I felt a little unsure. I was going for a gray-blue (sort of like my kitchen) that was light and bright and would go with the berber carpet I had picked out for the stairs (Equinox brand in Platinum from the Rug Merchant in Rockland, MA.....LOVE THEM!). What went on my wall was a more green-y light baby blue. Not a bad color, just not what I was going for. I mistakenly chalked it up to the fact that it was the first coat and it hadn't dried yet, so I kept going.......ALL THE WAY AROUND THE ROOM! I love this specific Sherwin Williams paint (we used it on the kitchen walls), but its not cheap. I think each gallon is about $40. So more than anything, I kept painting because I didn't want to waste money....and also, obviously, I didn't want to admit that I was wrong. NEVER!! I have picked the wrong color before, but not for such a big space. I left the basement for the night and decided to sleep on it.

Here's some shots of the first color. You can almost see the apprehension on my face in the photo below.....either that or I'm giving B the "ahem" look for taking a picture of me looking like that! Haha

The next morning I woke up and still hated it. As much as I tried to convince myself that it would grow on me, I just couldn't stand it. I know it sounds crazy (and believe me, if you could have seen the look on B's face), but I knew that I wouldn't be happy unless I changed it. So I spent another few hours taping previously discarded swatches onto the wall to find the perfect color that I must have missed. Discouraged and cranky, I walked up the stairs to take a break from the madness and was standing in the kitchen doorway when I realized that I should just use the same color as the kitchen. Why hadn't I thought of that before? In fact, B mentioned it at some point during my crazed swatch-taping mania....I just didn't hear him...or want to listen. I guess my initial reaction was that it would be weird if my whole house was one color. But at the end of the day, I really love it, so why not? Right? I ran back out to Sherwin Williams with my Behr Burnished Metal swatch and had them color match it for me. It cost me another $80, and took me another 8ish hours to paint a second coat (which it probably needed anyway), but I am so happy with it now. Maybe I am a little crazy, but I plan to spend a lot of time down there, so it better make me happy.

And it does! You probably can't tell the difference between the first two pictures and these, but in the room it makes a big difference....at least it does to me. The final product has a little more gray in it that gives it the subtlety I was going for. Plus, it matches very well with our white/blue stripe sectional couch. Important now, but I wanted to make sure I would love the color even if we get different furniture down the road. (Oh, and you can take a little sneak peak at the vanity in the photo above....more about that later, but I am in love!!!)

Ok, long story short (ha...they never are), with the big room done and a new sense of confidence behind me, I went to town painting the bathroom and the office next. Those colors were a lot easier. I knew that I was going to use the rest of the ceramic tiles from the half bath renovation (more here), so I color-matched the grey from that for the walls of the bathroom. It is a color called Gray Area by Behr but I had them lighten it by half. Then I went with a pretty basic beige color for the office.....which is actually my new favorite beige....it's called Perfect Gray from Sherwin Williams, and it is just the perfect shade of grey-beige or greige. It doesn't have any green or yellow in it. It is beautiful! And it transitions really nice from the hallway because it is so subtle. Hopefully it will look nice when we put up the french (12-light) door on the room.

Another few hours of painting on those rooms and VOILA!!! I am a very happy camper!

Bathroom

Office

Now we can get started on the floors. I can't wait to tell you more about that. I just got an AMAZING deal on laminate at Lowe's. I actually picked it all up two weeks ago but we haven't been able to install it yet since we wanted to finish the painting (plus you need to leave it in the space to "breathe" for 48-72 hours before you install it). We are going to install it this weekend, along with the bathroom floor tile. Can't wait to share those projects with you!

about me

Hi! My name is Heather and I am a wife, a stay-at-home mom, novice photographer and DIYer/designer (among other things). Most days I am just trying to balance being a mom while staying creative, artistic and sane. In my spare time (whatever that means), you will likely find me designing, photographing, renovating and decorating our house.
This is the story of how we are transforming it into a simple...beautiful...home.